EDUCATION REPORT - Single-sex schools

EDUCATION REPORT - Single-sex schools
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, April 08, 2004

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Many private schools in the United States teach only boys or only girls. But fewer than one-hundred public schools teach boys and girls separately. There are twenty-five single-sex public schools. Seventy-two other public schools offer some classes for only boys or only girls.

The United States government recently announced new rules concerning¹ single-sex education in public schools. These rules were required by legislation² Congress³ approved two years ago. That legislation represented a major change in American education policy. For thirty years, the government generally disapproved⁴ of single-sex public schools. A nineteen-seventy-two law banned unequal treatment based on sex, and single-sex schools faced possible legal action.

The new rules permit public schools that teach both boys and girls to offer single-sex classes under three conditions. The first is a good reason for offering the class. For example, if the school wants more girls to study computer science and few girls are doing so, the school could offer a computer science class for only girls. The second condition is that the school must offer a class in the same subject for both girls and boys. The third condition is that the school must examine the need for the single-sex class from time to time.

The new rules also permit single-sex schools - those that teach all boys or all girls. The only condition for operating an all-girls school, for example, is that equal classes and services are offered at other schools nearby. But those other schools do not have to be single-sex. They can have both boys and girls.

Some educators say children can learn better in single-sex schools. Others disagree. Researchers have shown that boys and girls learn information in different ways. However, research about the effects of same-sex schools has shown mixed results.

The United States Department of Education has begun a study of single-sex education. But it will not release⁵ any results until two-thousand-six. The National Association⁶ for Single-Sex Public Education says that some American educators are not waiting for these results. Officials say that ten new single-sex public schools will open in September.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.

1 concerning   

prep.关于，论及

参考例句：

• What do you know concerning this?关于这事你知道些什么？
• Some senior students wrote in asking for information concerning postgraduate studies.一些四年级学生写信询问有关研究生课程的信息。

2 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

3 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

4 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

6 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。